HH:MM → decimal grid (1–12 hours × 5-min steps)
| H \ M | :00 | :05 | :10 | :15 | :20 | :25 | :30 | :35 | :40 | :45 | :50 | :55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.00 | 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.25 | 0.33 | 0.42 | 0.50 | 0.58 | 0.67 | 0.75 | 0.83 | 0.92 |
| 1 | 1.00 | 1.08 | 1.17 | 1.25 | 1.33 | 1.42 | 1.50 | 1.58 | 1.67 | 1.75 | 1.83 | 1.92 |
| 2 | 2.00 | 2.08 | 2.17 | 2.25 | 2.33 | 2.42 | 2.50 | 2.58 | 2.67 | 2.75 | 2.83 | 2.92 |
| 3 | 3.00 | 3.08 | 3.17 | 3.25 | 3.33 | 3.42 | 3.50 | 3.58 | 3.67 | 3.75 | 3.83 | 3.92 |
| 4 | 4.00 | 4.08 | 4.17 | 4.25 | 4.33 | 4.42 | 4.50 | 4.58 | 4.67 | 4.75 | 4.83 | 4.92 |
| 5 | 5.00 | 5.08 | 5.17 | 5.25 | 5.33 | 5.42 | 5.50 | 5.58 | 5.67 | 5.75 | 5.83 | 5.92 |
| 6 | 6.00 | 6.08 | 6.17 | 6.25 | 6.33 | 6.42 | 6.50 | 6.58 | 6.67 | 6.75 | 6.83 | 6.92 |
| 7 | 7.00 | 7.08 | 7.17 | 7.25 | 7.33 | 7.42 | 7.50 | 7.58 | 7.67 | 7.75 | 7.83 | 7.92 |
| 8 | 8.00 | 8.08 | 8.17 | 8.25 | 8.33 | 8.42 | 8.50 | 8.58 | 8.67 | 8.75 | 8.83 | 8.92 |
| 9 | 9.00 | 9.08 | 9.17 | 9.25 | 9.33 | 9.42 | 9.50 | 9.58 | 9.67 | 9.75 | 9.83 | 9.92 |
| 10 | 10.00 | 10.08 | 10.17 | 10.25 | 10.33 | 10.42 | 10.50 | 10.58 | 10.67 | 10.75 | 10.83 | 10.92 |
| 11 | 11.00 | 11.08 | 11.17 | 11.25 | 11.33 | 11.42 | 11.50 | 11.58 | 11.67 | 11.75 | 11.83 | 11.92 |
| 12 | 12.00 | 12.08 | 12.17 | 12.25 | 12.33 | 12.42 | 12.50 | 12.58 | 12.67 | 12.75 | 12.83 | 12.92 |
Cells are 2-decimal-place rounded values. Quarter-hour cells (highlighted) are exact: 0.25 = 15 min, 0.50 = 30 min, 0.75 = 45 min. For the underlying minute-by-minute table, see the minutes-to-decimal chart.
How to read the grid
Find your hour count in the leftmost column, then your minutes (rounded down to the nearest 5) in the top row. The cell at the intersection is the decimal-hour equivalent.
Example: a 7-hour 45-minute shift. Look at row 7, column :45. The cell shows 7.75. That’s what goes into payroll.
For minute values that aren’t multiples of 5 (like 3:47 or 9:23), use the interactive calculator — the chart isn’t designed for that level of precision.
Common shift lengths in decimal
- Half day (4 hr) → 4.00
- 6-hour shift → 6.00
- 7.5-hour shift (7:30, common in EU) → 7.50
- 8-hour with 30-min lunch (7:30 paid) → 7.50
- 9-hour shift → 9.00
- 10-hour with 30-min break (9:30 paid) → 9.50
- 12-hour shift (typical hospital) → 12.00
- 12-hour with 1-hr lunch (11:00 paid) → 11.00
Why some columns repeat decimals
Glance down the :05, :10, :20, :25, :35, :40, :50, :55 columns. The hundredths digits don’t terminate cleanly — they’re repeating decimals. We’ve rounded to two places for readability. The exact values for non-quarter-hour cells are:
- :05 → x.0833…
- :10 → x.1666…
- :20 → x.3333…
- :25 → x.4166…
- :35 → x.5833…
- :40 → x.6666…
- :50 → x.8333…
- :55 → x.9166…
That’s why payroll software always asks you to pick a rounding mode: most cells in this grid can’t be represented exactly in two decimal places. Why the math works this way.
How to use this for cross-checking pay
When an employee questions a paycheck, the fastest sanity check is:
- Get the day’s clock-in and clock-out times.
- Subtract to get HH:MM elapsed.
- Subtract any unpaid break.
- Look up the result in this chart.
- Multiply by the hourly rate.
That number should match the “hours” column on the paystub. If it doesn’t, the difference is almost always one of: (a) different rounding rule, (b) overtime premium not yet applied, (c) lunch break inclusion error, (d) PTO/holiday hours mixed in.
